For Thursday, March 27, 1997 Drummer Column, Gibbs, 703 words

Joy Ride

If you can read this, you're standing too close.

Put the paper down.

Go outside and sniff up some of that open-water air.

Spring is one week old today. Have you done something to celebrate it? Have you been outside, surrounded by plant life, yet? If not, you better scoot. Don't let this big weekend pass you by. Plan an adventure. Here are a few of my favorite local getaways.

Ever been to Rock City? Drive like you're going to climb Mt. Diablo, then turn right at the base of the ascent on Diablo Scenic Boulevard. Rock City is a park full of big climbing rocks of all shapes and sizes. Kids love it. Trails swoop and dip all through the boulders, and a picnic lunch would top off the day. If you follow the road out, you find yourself in Blackhawk, where there's a great movie theater.

Ever drive Bear Creek Road from Pinole to Tilden Park? It's an excellent back road into Berkeley if you're celebrating Spring. Exit I-80 at Pinole, drive east on Alhambra Valley Road, right on Bear Creek and it's clear sailing. On wide, winding, empty highway, you will wrap around the backside of Briones Reservoir and pop up at the Tilden Park Entrance in Orinda Village. Snake along Wildcat Canyon Road to the Merry-Go-Round and take a spin.

When leaving Berkeley, avoid freeways again by taking the Arlington, which starts in North Berkeley and meets I-80 at San Pablo Dam Road. The Arlington flows along the ridge that parallels the Interstate through Berkeley, Albany, Kensington, El Cerrito, and Richmond. It has few stop signs, light traffic, and beautiful views of the Golden Gate Bridge. And before you leave Berkeley, stop and climb Indian Rock. It's at the exact beginning of the Arlington, at the circle on Marin Street, which runs from San Pablo Boulevard in Albany straight up the hill to Grizzly Peak Boulevard.

If you cross the San Rafael Bridge and make no turns, you will drive straight to Point Reyes National Seashore. Sir Francis Drake Boulevard will take you all the way to the lighthouse at the western tip. On the way you will pass through San Anselmo, the beautiful forests of Samuel P. Taylor Park, coastline meadows, and Olema by the sea. Limantour and Sculptured Beach are only a few miles into the park.

From Highway 1, you can loop south to Stinson Beach and their huge parking lot. A left on Panoramic Highway south of Stinson will detour you up to the top of Mount Tamalpais. When you're done exploring, take Highway 1 back out to Highway 101 a few miles south of the San Rafael Bridge. Drive north and complete the loop.

For a real treat, go south on Highway 101 and exit right before the Golden Gate Bridge. A coastal road takes you up along the Marin Headlands to an old gun placement at the end of a walking tunnel through the mountain. At the far end of the tunnel, in the sites of the old cannon, is an open, windy view of the sea. Stay on this narrow road and you will meander across the headlands through the remains of Fort Baker, Fort Barry, and Fort Cronkite.

Another nearby place is Briones Regional Park. It's a bit hot and dreary, but it's close. It's behind Pleasant Hill. It's a good place for running.

The point is to go somewhere. Spring into Spring has sprung.

My honey and I agree. Our stay-home weekends fly by, and barely seem a break, but if we hop in the car and travel, those two days last forever. A good joy ride away from the house not only tunes the soul and forms a fond memory, it seriously cuts down on cooking, cleaning, and chores.

Last weekend we drove to Tahoe on a hoot. We walked for miles through residential streets looking at houses and neighborhoods. We had some eggs. We slowed to a crawl on Highway 50 both ways in awe of the devastation of the latest slide.

I feel sorry for the owner of that flattened blue-roofed house across the American River. You know the one I mean? Up past the Saint Pauli Inn. He just rebuilt that place after the recent fire.